VIctoria Police?

Okay, just a question.. how can a band go from this to this

it just seems such a shame.. they sound like they were a very good band..

Robbie,

Victoria Police Pipe Band was formed (I believe) in the mid 30s made up of mostly police officers. They didn't compete. However in 1987 Victoria Police Pipe Band recruited Pipe Major Nat Russell from the Royal Ulster Constabulary and got some funding from the state government. They began competing in Australia in grade two. One year later, the band attained the title of Australian grade two champions, and gained third place in the August world championships for the same grade. This earned regrading to grade one.
Victoria Police then spent the next decade competing in Australian and doing very well, claiming six consecutive grade one titles locally, and continued competition at a world scale. In 1992, 1994 and 1997 the band again claimed third place in the world championships, this time in grade one.
The Victoria Police Pipe Band with Drum Sergeant Harold Gillespie and Pipe Major Nat Russell,was crowned World Champions at Glasgow in 1998.
In October of 2000, the band's competing days were over as they re-formed, they now perform mainly at charity events, fundraisers, gatherings etc.

They were world champions Rubes !!!!
They had a change of Bosses and the new guy didnt want the police funding a band for overseas trips so they are home based now !!!

I guess you could put it this way when you recruit the best pipers from around australia for one compitition the funding becomes to expensive

And your point is?

I won't pretend to know a great deal about the Vic Police Band, but I can tell you this. The Police bands here play a major community service roll, however TBOK, none of the States seemed to be prepared to pay for overseas travel. Any trips taken by Qld Police Pipe Band, again TBOK, need to be funded by the members and fundraising and taken in their own time. The budgets allocated to the Police Service is, so they tell us, stretched to the limit, with many areas being under resourced.

You may see the downsizing of a Pipe Band as a shame, but the coppers in a country station that is old and falling down, would see it as a better use of Police Funding.

Point taken but i am talking about ten years ago

There was a bit more to it than just a change of boss and a lack of financing......based on information I received at the time !!!!!

By coincidence, the previous P/M of our band here in HK, played in the Victoria Police under Nat Russell.

I also personally contacted Nat in 1988 to ascertain whether there was any chance of joining the VICPOL (as a copper) via the pipe band. Sadly the days of taking on officers from overseas into the VICPOL were over by that time. I would have jumped at the chance.

I have a number of colleagues who have left the force in HK and joined police forces in Australia, although none were pipers. Some have stayed, whilst others became dissolutioned and subsequently returned. The South Australia Police were recently recruiting officers from the UK (I think their aim was to recruit approx. 70 officers as uniformed PCs). A couple of years ago, the WAPOL were also recruiting officers from the UK forces.

I don't know whether they still are or not, however approx. one year ago, the Queensland Police were recruiting pipers for the pipe band (a salaried position....although the salary wasn't up to much).

Never ceases to amaze me the information that you can get from this forum? well done folks

Cannae beat a bit of Vicky Polis. I have their albums somewhere. Loved the train one (Hellbound Train) or something like that they did - that was pure class.

There was a problem with players too,

Quite a few were offered positions with Viccy Police, including all of us who were in the RUCPB with Nat.

What did damage was that a few players went out there, and nearly all came home again,

They were all recruited as police, which included manpower, training costs, station establishment etc, so when a they packed up and went home, senior officers who perhaps didn't want/like the idea of a pipe band, had a pile of ammunition to shoot at it,

A good band can be a PR asset to any force, but when some diddy gets on the news crying about a pipe band, and peelers away enjoying themselves when old grannies are getting thumped over the head, it gives senior officers, who are mostly bureaucrats, a fit and they start a serious arse covering exercise,

Cheers

jayat wrote:Point taken but i am talking about ten years ago

Sorry Jim, when I said "what's your point?", I was talking to Robbie.

Have to remember the thread was upside down and I'm easily confused.

your easily confused? try being me!!!

Robbie.Crow wrote:your easily confused? try being me!!!

kind of you to offer.......but think I'll give it a miss....

Robbie.Crow wrote:your easily confused? try being me!!!

Made me ill just thinking about it??

Have there been any other bands that have won the worlds and did not return the next year?

Reid wrote:Have there been any other bands that have won the worlds and did not return the next year?

Shotts ??? :myers: